Turning 37

I forgot to write a post about my birthday.  Yes, another year older and wiser!  Every year on my birthday, I am reminded about birthdays past and HOW much things have changed.  When I turned 30, I was single and really did not know exactly what my future held, although I had hope that God had great things in store for me.  By the time I turned 31, I was married and hoping for a family.  At 32, I still had hope but my frustration was increasing.  By the time I turned 33, many dreams had been dashed by infertility, miscarriage, and failed treatments, and I was wondering if I would EVER be a mommy and wanting so desperately to be one.  Then on my 34th birthday, after another difficult year, we had just recently learned we were pregnant with twins.  I was on top of the world!!

And this is how it went from there.  On my 35th birthday with a lap full ...

And on my 36th birthday with a belly full and a lap full ...

And now on my 37th birthday with a lap overflowing ...

And did I mention that it was just a few weeks before I turned 37 that we found out we were expecting NUMBER 4!  Wow!  I am sometimes at a loss for words (unusual for me!) when I think of the journey we have been on and how greatly we have been blessed.  Oh, how things can change in just three years!

So how did I spend my 37th birthday?  I had the day off so James and I hung out that morning and went to our Wednesday playgroup with our friends.  Then we picked the girls up from school early and went to the mall to the play area and then to Barnes & Noble to let them play with the trains in the kids section.  They love trains, especially Annabel.  So as I was sitting on the floor of the bookstore, moving choo-choo trains around the track while trying not to throw up, my mom asked if this is what I thought I would be doing on MY birthday.  We both laughed.  Some women get massages or pedicures, some go out for a girls' night out ... me, I get on my knees with my kids to play.  THAT was my ideal afternoon ... something I waited so many years to be able to do.  (Yeah, I would enjoy a massage and a night out too though.)  Then we topped it off with pizza and cupcakes at home.  It was a very good birthday!  Here are a few other pics from my day.